tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3790062.post7557359185496446483..comments2024-03-27T08:11:29.257-06:00Comments on PeerCentered: the dual roles of teaching and consultingClint Gardnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07671508034667904543noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3790062.post-15548387609516356622007-10-30T17:07:00.000-06:002007-10-30T17:07:00.000-06:00Hey Elizabeth,I know that you posted this some tim...Hey Elizabeth,<BR/><BR/>I know that you posted this some time ago, but I thought I chime in anyway. I'm not a teacher, nor will I ever be, but I thought I'd offer a comment. I was actually there when this whole consultant/teacher fusion situation happened, and I think that you handled it beautifully.<BR/><BR/>When he walked into the center, I was filing some folders, and I remember looking up just in time to catch the look on your student's face as he blurted out his shocked response. You simply gave him the 'teacher nod' and then the 'consultant smile'...there was a definite difference between the two. I think this melted what otherwise could've have been a super awkward, tension filled 30 minutes for the both of you.<BR/><BR/>It may have still been a bit awkward for you, but I think that smile of yours helped a ton. I realize that he probably still saw you as The Teacher rather than a peer consultant, but maybe he was able to see you as a Writer as well, not just some all knowing being that dishes out homework and marks up papers.<BR/><BR/>I know that there's a lot of mixed emotions, conceptions, and hindrances that lie in-between the teacher/consultant--student/writer gap, but perhaps something can be gained through it too. It seems to me that it creates a sort of "human element" that might not have otherwise been achieved.<BR/><BR/>Don't know if any of this means anything, or is of any value, but I thought I'd mention it anyway.<BR/><BR/>Good luck!!!!Alisha Kamphhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03021863287095747457noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3790062.post-73729661150746080892007-10-22T20:07:00.000-06:002007-10-22T20:07:00.000-06:00This is definitely a matter that has concerned me....This is definitely a matter that has concerned me. I wrote about it a long time ago--whether a "teacher can be a peer." Previously I was firm defender of the peer element, but then I began to reconsider what role faculty can play in a writing center, particularly in a center that has a large population of non-traditional students. <BR/><BR/>I'm not certain now where I stand on the issue. I need to think about it more.Clint Gardnerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07671508034667904543noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3790062.post-48682294786306093182007-10-19T12:24:00.000-06:002007-10-19T12:24:00.000-06:00Next year I will be in the same situation and I've...Next year I will be in the same situation and I've been putting a great deal of thought into how I will handle it. I'd like to say I had an answer. It sounds to me, Elizabeth, that you managed a decent balance. That being said, I do plan to forbid students from my classes from scheduling appointment with me in the center. My reasons maybe selfish--I want to avoid the situation you found yourself in--but I feel I need to draw a line between being a consultant and being an instructor.Zacheryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15035073891910363718noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3790062.post-22311966247374723952007-10-18T21:07:00.000-06:002007-10-18T21:07:00.000-06:00Hey Elizabeth --I direct the writing center at a s...Hey Elizabeth --<BR/><BR/>I direct the writing center at a small private college in South Dakota, and I just wanted to chime in to say that I'm familiar with the split you mentioned. When I started at this institution, I was directing the WC and tutoring in it, and teaching a couple of courses. After the first year, I started to schedule myself out of the tutoring rotation, simply because the students--especially my own, but not only--continued to perceive me as the teacher rather than the tutor. I still tutor in special circumstances, but I found the split quite difficult to overcome.gadhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16740169728180315699noreply@blogger.com